U.S. Natural Gas Futures Follow The Weather — Market Talk

U.S. ag traders are taking the lack of retaliatory tariffs from China on U.S. grain exports as a sign that a window for negotiations is open--but the lack of urgency coming from President Trump about negotiating with Chinese President Xi has grain traders nervous. "Uncertain trade policy between the world's largest soybean importer and the world's second largest soybean exporter are in full display," says AgResource in a note. CBOT soybean futures are down 0.6% premarket. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)

Energy stocks were advancing premarket Wednesday, with The Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund 0.1% higher.

The United States Oil Fund was 1% lower and the United States Natural Gas Fund was down 0.2%.

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil was down 1.1% at $71.87 per barrel at the New York Mercantile Exchange. Global benchmark North Sea Brent crude oil lost 1.2% to reach $75.31 per barrel, and natural gas futures were down 0.8% at $3.23 per 1 million British Thermal Units.

Equinor reported Q4 adjusted earnings that lagged analyst expectations in addition to posting lower revenue and other income for the quarter. The company also said it is cutting investment outlook to renewables and low carbon solutions to around $5 billion in total after project financing for 2025-2027. Equinor shares were down 3.6% pre-bell.

TotalEnergies shares rose 1.8% after it reported Q4 adjusted earnings and revenue that exceeded market expectations.

Atmos Energy shares were up 1% pre-bell Wednesday after it reported higher fiscal Q1 earnings late Tuesday.

Source: CME Group 
FEBRUARY 2025 COMEX 5000 SILVER FUTURES 
INTENT DATE:   02/04/2025          DELIVERY DATE: 02/06/2025 
 
FIRM    ORG   FIRM NAME                   ISSUED     STOPPED 
167      C    MAREX                                        2 
363      H    WELLS FARGO SEC                             37 
435      H    SCOTIA CAPITAL                              19 
624      H    BOFA SECURITIES                              5 
657      C    MORGAN STANLEY                               1 
661      C    JP MORGAN                       99         160 
686      C    STONEX FINANCIA                108 
737      C    ADVANTAGE                        1           1 
905      C    ADM                             20           3 
 
                            TOTAL:           228         228 
                    MONTH TO DATE:                     2,403 
 
 
Write to Linda Rice at csstat@dowjones.com 
 

Source: CME Group 
FEBRUARY 2025 COMEX 100 GOLD FUTURES 
INTENT DATE:   02/04/2025          DELIVERY DATE: 02/06/2025 
 
FIRM    ORG   FIRM NAME                   ISSUED     STOPPED 
072      C    GOLDMAN                                    132 
092      C    DEUTSCHE BANK                               10 
104      C    MIZUHO                                       3 
118      C    MACQUARIE FUT                               57 
118      H    MACQUARIE FUT                               95 
132      C    SG AMERICAS                    255          12 
190      H    BMO CAPITAL                                114 
323      C    HSBC                           420 
323      H    HSBC                                        52 
332      H    STANDARD CHARTE                            146 
363      C    WELLS FARGO SEC                             23 
363      H    WELLS FARGO SEC                             53 
435      H    SCOTIA CAPITAL                             169 
555      C    BNP PARIBAS SEC                 69 
624      C    BOFA SECURITIES                             20 
624      H    BOFA SECURITIES                            255 
657      C    MORGAN STANLEY                             237 
657      H    MORGAN STANLEY                1166 
661      C    JP MORGAN                      474         804 
686      C    STONEX FINANCIA                 21          17 
690      C    ABN AMRO                        21           1 
709      C    BARCLAYS                                   182 
709      H    BARCLAYS                                    99 
730      C    PTG DIVISION SG                              5 
732      C    RBC CAP MARKETS                  2         235 
737      C    ADVANTAGE                        4           2 
880      C    CITIGROUP                      333          42 
905      C    ADM                              2           2 
 
                            TOTAL:         2,767       2,767 
                    MONTH TO DATE:                    47,739 
 
 
Write to Linda Rice at csstat@dowjones.com 
 

Gold futures rise, keeping close to a fresh record set earlier in the session. Futures rise 0.2% to $2,880.80 a troy ounce, having hit $2,901.50 earlier in the day. Investors are increasingly seeking safe-haven in hard assets like gold, silver, copper and platinum, historically viewed as stores of value in times of financial uncertainty, Saxo Bank's Ole Hansen says in a note. The risk of sovereign debt crises, currency devaluations and systemic financial instability could further reinforce this trend, increasing the attractiveness of metals as a hedge against economic turbulence, Hansen writes. A shift away from U.S. dollar dominance is also underway as nations seek to reduce their greenback reliance for trade and reserve holdings, Hansen says. This is further supporting demand for gold and other stable commodities, as countries seek alternative to fiat currencies, he adds. (joseph.hoppe@wsj.com)

Energy stocks were advancing premarket Wednesday, with The Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) 0.1% higher.

The United States Oil Fund (USO) was 0.8% lower and the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) was down 1.4%.

Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil was down 1.2% at $71.85 per barrel at the New York Mercantile Exchange. Global benchmark North Sea Brent crude oil lost 1.2% to reach $75.32 per barrel, and natural gas futures were down 1.6% at $3.20 per 1 million British Thermal Units.

Equinor reported Q4 adjusted earnings that lagged analyst expectations in addition to posting lower revenue and other income for the quarter. The company also said it is cutting investment outlook to renewables and low carbon solutions to around $5 billion in total after project financing for 2025-2027. Equinor shares were down 3.3% pre-bell.